It started with a
history project. Mr. Gregor assigned a research paper on a figure from the
Tudor era, and of course Jane Grey had to pick her namesake—Lady Jane Grey, the
fifteen-year-old girl whose parents schemed to place her on the throne of
England, then abandoned her to face the executioner. The project is engrossing
from the start, but when Jane opens a mysterious prayer book and finds herself
in the Tower of London in 1553, she ends up literally drawn into her namesake’s
story. Soon, Jane is slipping into the past whenever the present becomes too
unbearable, avoiding her mother’s demands, her best friend’s fickleness, her
crush’s indifference. In the Tower she plays chess with the imprisoned Lady
Jane, awed by her new friend’s strength and courage. And it is in the Tower,
keeping vigil as the day of the execution draws near, that Jane learns that
she, too, must have the courage to fight for her own happiness.

In modern day
Halifax, Nova Scotia (yay for books set in Canada!), Jane Grey begins a project
for history class. During her research of her namesake, Lady Jane Grey, she is
transported through time to the Tower of London, where Lady Jane is being held
prisoner, awaiting news of her fate.

Lady Jane enters Jane's life at exactly the right time, and her friendship is invaluable. Jane's best friend is making new
friends, which makes it seem like she and Jane are growing apart. Between that,
Jane’s horrible mother (I won’t say too much because it would get into spoiler
territory), and Jane’s confusing crush, Jane desperately needs the escape of
Lady Jane’s friendship, and to be able to concentrate on someone else’s
problems rather than her own. Jane draws strength from Lady Jane; the former
queen’s fate is set in stone, but Jane’s isn’t, and through Jane she finds the courage to do something
about her awful home situation.

I thought MacLeod
did a really good job of weaving the past together with the present. I always
worry that books like this will get confusing with the back and forth, but I
had no trouble keeping up with Namesake. I enjoyed watching Jane’s life in the
present, and I eagerly anticipated each of her visits to the past, since I’ve
always been fascinated with Tudor era England.

I appreciated that Namesake
was more than just a novel about time travel. Like any good contemporary YA, it
had real life issues - friends changing and growing up, family issues, school, relationships.
It was also interesting to see the issues that Lady Jane faced in the past, and
what her life - and death - was like. I also liked that it spotlighted a valuable
lesson: people aren’t always what they appear.

I was dreading the
ending, knowing what happens to Lady Jane, but I thought it was so well done.
It was kind of bittersweet and had me smiling even as I teared up, but overall
it left me feeling hopeful, and Jane’s present-day resolution left me
completely satisfied.

Namesake is a captivating story that is sure to
please fans of contemporary young adult and historic fiction alike.

3.75 stars

Have you read Namesake? What did you think? Do you like historic fiction? Are you as fascinated with Tudor era England as I am?

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*Blue Sky Days

*The Game Changer

*The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

*Waiting for the Storm (Angel Island #1)

*After the Storm (Angel Island #2)

*Take Them by Storm (Angel Island #3)*Something in the Air

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